North Korea fired another rocket which flew over the territory of Japan and disintegrated into three parts, according to international agencies.
The General Staff of the South Korean army announced that the rocket flew 2,700 kilometers, at a maximum height of 5.5 kilometers, and it went over the island of Hokkaido. It’s still unknown what type of rocket it is, while Reuters reports that the missile flew about 1180 kilometers and fell into the waters of the island of Hokkaido. The Japanese army did not try to shot down the rocket, which flew over the Japanese territory around 6:06 am local time.
The latest launch is the first one from Sunana, where Pyongyang International Airport is located. This indicates the possibility that the missile has been fired from a mobile launcher, AP reports.
Japanese authorities: Look for shelters
The news of the launch of the new Pyongyang projectile was announced by the Japanese authorities, and it warned the citizens of the danger. J-alert, a system of urgent public information in emergency situations was instantly activated, so people in the north received SMS messages with instructions for behavior, and the television interrupted the regular program so that the leaders could read the instructions several times, reports the Morning Leaf.
-Get into solid objects or in underground shelters – it is said among other things in the instructions.
The Washington Post recalls that the last time the North Korean missile passed through Japan’s airspace was in 1998, but it happened when the two countries and the region were under a huge tension due to the nuclear activities of the Kim Jong-Il regime.
This year, North Korea carried out 13 missile launches, and it is estimated that Pyongyang could have atomic bombs by 2024.
South Korea responded by military exercises
South Korea carried out a military aerial bombing exercise just hours after North Korea fired a rocket into Japanese waters. This demonstration of force was ordered by the President Mun Ji In.
Four fighter planes “F15K” have thrown bombs “MK84” into a firing range near the border of two Koreas in Taebeak, the agency said.
Japanese officials: Launching a rocket is a threat, Tokyo will react sharply
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would do anything in his power to protect the Japanese people and then talked to President Donald Tramp on the phone with whom he agreed to make a greater pressure on North Korea, initially convening an emergency session of the Security Council UN to consider further action.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has also announced that the latest launch of a North Korean missile is a threat to which Tokyo will react sharply.
– It seemed that this ballistic missile was flying over our territory. This is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat to our nation – Suga told reporters, Reuters reports.
The Pentagon also confirmed that North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan, but also stressed that it was not a threat to North America.
– We can confirm that the missile fired by North Korea flew over Japan – Colonel Robert Mening told reporters.
He added that the US military is working on gathering additional information.
The head of the International Committee of Russian Federation Council, Konstantin Kosacho, believes that the recently adopted resolution of the UN Security Council concerning the missile potentials of North Korea has not achieved its goal because “the situation has turned into a bilateral dispute between North Korea and the United States.”
– North Korea’s latest rocket test shows that Pyongyang’s threat of rocket launching into the water near US territory is not a bluff, Kosachev said.
